As happens to melancholies on occasion, I woke up today in a puddle of self-pity. I had no good reason for this, but the puddle was just deep enough to warrant a pajama day. For those of you who are not acquainted with pajama days, they are days whose normal activities get canceled for the sake of self-interested indulgences such as spending the day in pajamas eating potato chips in bed while thumbing through magazines displaying immaculately decorated homes or tall, slender women with flawless, unwrinkled skin who are dressed in the latest and best fashions. The purpose of such activities is to sustain self-pity by comparing the reality of one's own life to the image of perfection presented in the glossy pages which are intended by the publishers of these magazines to create discontentment in the reader which will then compel them to buy better furniture, newer clothes and more wrinkle cream. I hadn't entertained these plans for long when I remembered a friend of mine who just a few years ago was going through a period of considerable difficulty and who every day for several years could have justified a pajama day. Each morning this friend would rise to the occasion of the day not by merely pulling her reluctant body out of bed, but by making effort to look her best (the rest of us wished her best wasn't so much better than ours) so that she could teach her children that each day was worth getting ready for.
Also intruding into my plans for a self-centered pajama day was the remembrance of a conversation I had just the evening prior in which I was reminded that our time does not belong to us. Made uncomfortable by conviction, I got out of bed as always and chose to not be mastered by self-pity.
Whatever our circumstances, every day is created by God and is worth getting ready for. Our time really isn't our own and we will do well to make the most of what God has given us. Those puddles of self-pity will evaporate as we open the windows and let the sunshine invade our space (which isn't really ours either) and embrace God's plan for our day whether it means going to work, going to church or doing six loads of laundry. The best thing may not seem desirable at the moment, but it yields the greatest rewards.here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
Also intruding into my plans for a self-centered pajama day was the remembrance of a conversation I had just the evening prior in which I was reminded that our time does not belong to us. Made uncomfortable by conviction, I got out of bed as always and chose to not be mastered by self-pity.
Whatever our circumstances, every day is created by God and is worth getting ready for. Our time really isn't our own and we will do well to make the most of what God has given us. Those puddles of self-pity will evaporate as we open the windows and let the sunshine invade our space (which isn't really ours either) and embrace God's plan for our day whether it means going to work, going to church or doing six loads of laundry. The best thing may not seem desirable at the moment, but it yields the greatest rewards.here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
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